


Cravings

by Kiss_Shining



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Relationships, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Light Angst, No Plot/Plotless, Offhand Fic, Surreal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 22:18:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19798903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiss_Shining/pseuds/Kiss_Shining
Summary: He wasn’t here.Theyweren’t here. But at least like this, Chichi could pretend that her family was right by her side.





	Cravings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time writing Chichi, so please excuse me if my characterization isn’t accurate. If needed, I’ll add an OOC tag. 
> 
> Here’s a small tribute to her. Hope you enjoy.

She sat at an empty table.

The dishes were clean, the floor mopped, the curtains washed and wrung out. Gohan’s study books were in a tidy little stack, pressed against the wall, all prepared for when he finally came home. All of his and Goku’s clothes were already folded neatly in their drawers. Plates and plates of Goku’s favorite dishes were in front of her, slowly growing cold. But like always, she waited until nightfall, until it was certain that once again, neither of them would show.

Standing up, Chichi found herself wandering to the cabinets where she kept all of her memories from when times were lighter, from when the love of her life hadn’t died from an alien attack, from when a strange green man hadn’t taken her baby away. She took one, two, and three albums at a time and placed them neatly on the ground in the living room. Fingering one of her earliest albums of the three of them, she stood again, returning to that same cabinet, pulling out more albums, more than she could care to count. When Gohan was growing up, she wanted to take a picture of every moment he had. His first steps. His first words. His curiosity. His smile. And Goku, too. Goku, the man that piqued her interest, the man that had the strength of a hundred boars and a heart as pure as gold. She wanted to remember all of her fondest memories with him, too. So despite his protests, she took photo after photo of him, and he soon learned to just deal with it.

The second set of albums that she laid on the ground was a bit messier than the first, but it was still in a neat stack that threatened to topple over. She readjusted it and then got up a third time for the last of her albums: her most recent memories with Goku and Gohan with that cute little red hat that she thought looked so dashing on him. In her haste, she stumbled over thin air, and all of the VCR tapes and the remainder of her memories splattered all over the floor, knocking the other two stacks over like a pile of dominos. The living room was a far cry of what it was just an hour ago, but she didn’t pay any attention to it. She crawled over on her knees and turned on the television set, grabbed the nearest VCR tape, and popped it in, waiting patiently.

Gohan’s voice bloomed in the silence, and Chichi’s shoulders fell. She smiled, watching her little baby boy place his chubby fingers all over the camera, fascinated. He looked no older than two in this one, and she was just so happy to see him again. It felt like ages since she’s seen her son, and watching him on screen felt like such a warm balm to her heart. Without glancing away, she grabbed an album that was opened up to a random page and traced along the edges. She only looked down when the video ended, and her hand smoothed over the picture of her wedding ceremony. Goku had looked so handsome, so sweet, so kind, and in that moment, he was all hers…only hers…

The picture became blurry, and she wiped her eyes. Gently turning the page, she stared down at the picture that she had her father take of the three of them. Goku, Gohan, and her in front of their house. She felt something near desperate take over her, and she flipped through the albums, sucking in the ephemeral happiness and the warmth that she couldn’t find here alone, and it was by the seventh photo book that she heard the door creak.

“Man, I’m _starving_! Chichi, did you make anything to eat?”

Her chest constricted, and she slowly stood up, her legs trembling wildly.

“Goku-sa…?” She gingerly tip-toed over the mess she made in the living room to the front door to see if she really wasn’t hearing things, but she wasn’t. Goku was really there. He finally came home after so long! And next to him was her beautiful son. She tried to stop herself, but tears fell to her chin and she ran forward and hugged him and picked up Gohan.

“M-mom, you’re hurting me…”

“Well then, you shouldn’t have been away for so long.” She pressed her face against his, taking in the strong scent of sweat and the fainter smell of pine and earth with a sigh. She could deal with his matted hair because after so long, her family had finally come home to her. All of those days of sleeping alone in an empty house and cooking for no one finally paid off. Finally, finally, things could be like how they always were.

“Chichi…”

She glared at Goku. “Stop whining, Goku-sa!” And then too overcome with bliss, she beamed at him and led him into the dining room. As she expected, Goku’s eyes brightened at the sight of food and he sat down, waiting for Gohan to join him. It was only when Chichi joined him as well that he began to eat sloppily as ever. Ignoring him, she turned to her son. She knew that Gohan would hate her next words, but in due time, he would see that she meant nothing but the best for him.

“Now that you’re back Gohan, you’ve got a lot of studying to do.”

“But mom…”

“Don’t ‘but mom’ me. You’ve been gone gallivanting for six months, Gohan, _six months_! Every day that you don’t study is a day you’ll be left behind. So starting tomorrow afternoon, you’re going to study like your life depends on it. Am I clear?”

Gohan frowned at his plate, and her heart broke just a tad. “Alright…” He picked at his food, and she sighed.

“But before that, won’t you tell me about your adventures? Whatever happened to those aliens that were supposed to destroy the world? Those Saiyans or whatever?”

He grinned, and she leaned back, satisfied. As much as she wanted her son to become successful, she wanted him to be happy above all else. She listened patiently as her son talked about “Piccolo’s” training, about his uncle, Raditz, and about these Saiyans that Gohan struggled to describe but said were very powerful. Goku had defeated them, her son said with a hint of pride, and Goku just laughed like he always did.

And then the VCR tape that she had originally left alone started to play again, and Goku’s grin froze. Everything froze as if time had stopped, and then it slowly fizzled away. No more was her husband before her, laughing joyously, no more was her son smiling; she was right where she started in the beginning, sitting at an empty table with food that had long since grown cold.

She sniffled, and this time, she finally sobbed, placing her hands on her reddened face.

The dream was always so sweet until it ended.


End file.
